Significant deformation can occur on rail constructions when exposed to fire. Severe consequences include the system failure of the suspended ceilings located below, which exposes escape and rescue routes to smoke and fire. Conduit installations in escape and rescue routes must therefore be designed to withstand fires, which can save lives. fischer contributed to modifying the European Assessment Document (EAD) 280016-00-0602 published by the German Institute for Structural Engineering (DIBt) and optimised the document for fire protection purposes. This now allows European Technical Assessments (ETAs) for approved conduit fastening products to be created with CE marking, while the fire resistance of installations is assessed and proven according to up-to-date technical knowledge. During this process, each construction product of a fischer pipe support system is tested and assessed by a specially accredited institute before being transferred into an ETA. As the fixing specialist has already carried out tests similar to EAD requirements in recent years, a lot of data from past tests served as the basis for the design. 

Passing the fire test
The fischer FUS channels have already been assessed based on the EAD 280016-00-0602 (ETA 21-0140). The fixing specialist thereby laid the foundation for innovative designs in the field of installation systems for technical building equipment which will ultimately be carried out via software-supported simulations. The method allows loads related to fire resistance to be configured freely while optimising the supporting width of the channels – parameters that were previously pre-set.

The ETAs allow specialist application designs to be carried out, allowing channels to be simulated with any number of pipe support system configurations for the event of fire. Changes to the planned kits can be carried out quickly, flexibly and affordably at any time. All products used will feature CE marking in future, which makes the overall configuration an approved application, providing added flexibility. The deformation processes and failure characteristics of pipe support systems in case of fire are tested and made available as a database. In Germany, conduits can be designed in an ideal manner with the help of the ETA according to the MLAR 2015 guideline (2015 Specimen Guideline on Conduits). The assessment also allows escape and rescue routes across Europe and the world to be designed safely. A design for a pipe support system under room temperature is also integrated in the assessment. 

Expert reports remain valid
The existing expert reports for fire tested channel and pipe clamp fastenings of fischer remain valid. The fire protection test reports contain proof of compliance with criteria according to the federal German Guideline on Conduits (LAR), valid across the country based on the MLAR 2015 guideline for the installation in escape and rescue routes. At its core, it entails ensuring the functionality of the suspended ceiling for fire protection purposes. This requires a minimum distance (min a) of 50 mm between conduit installations and the F30 suspended ceiling (fire resistance duration of 30 minutes). The fire tests therefore determine load specifications for a fire resistance duration of 30 minutes in relation to the maximum permissible deformation of channels or pipe clamps, for instance. The need for these observations results from the properties of the steel that is subjected to temperatures of > 800 °C for 30 minutes according to the unit temperature curve.

Additional fischer installation system products will gradually follow on from the FUS channels, as their safety under fire exposure will be proven in accordance with the ETA.